PEMCO Poll Finds Residents Can Do More To Prevent Neighborhood Crime

SEATTLE, Aug. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In an age where most can count their online acquaintances by the hundreds, a recent poll from PEMCO Insurance shows that few Northwest residents know the person who lives nearby.

According to the latest PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll, 41 percent say they have contact information for less than a quarter of people who live in their neighborhood, and two-thirds of drivers in Washington and Oregon have personally met fewer than half of their neighbors. 

The new data comes out as neighborhoods across the country celebrate National Night Out, a nationally organized block party held in local communities to promote neighborhood safety and heighten crime-prevention awareness. 

"Programs like National Night Out offer a great chance to meet the people you've seen around your neighborhood but haven't met," said PEMCO spokesperson Jon Osterberg. "Knowing your neighbors, building trust with them, and sharing basic information like your phone number and the dates you leave town can help build a neighborhood safety shield that deters crime."

National Night Out is celebrated nationally with block parties, cookouts, and other outdoor neighborhood events throughout the first week in August. Seattle alone registered 1,327 events last year, and Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement lists nearly 160 registered gatherings across the city over a 10-day span in 2012.  

But despite the community enthusiasm for National Night Out, PEMCO's poll finds just 12 percent of Washington residents and 13 percent of Portlanders say they've ever participated in a National Night Out event.  Beyond the annual event, two-thirds or more of respondents are unaware of coordinated efforts to prevent crime, like a neighborhood block watch – 71 percent of Portlanders and 66 percent of Washington residents, respectively. 

And yet, according to the poll, 51 percent of all respondents in the Northwest share at least some concern for the safety of their neighborhoods.

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